


I Like How He Smells

by ash_mcj



Series: Teen Wolf Outsider POVs [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: 5 Times, 5+1, 5+1 Things, Allison Argent & Malia Tate & Jackson Whittemore are Siblings, Chris Argent & Peter Hale & Sheriff Stilinski Friendship, Chris Argent is Derek Hale's Parental Figure, Cora Hale & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Cute, Cute Kids, Derek Hale is Territorial, Derek Hale is a Softie, Fluff, Hale Family Feels, Jackson Whittemore is a Hale, Kid Derek Hale, Kid Fic, Kid Stiles Stilinski, Malia Tate & Jackson Whittemore are Peter Hale's Kids, Malia Tate & Jackson Whittemore are Siblings, Mates Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Multi, POV Laura Hale, POV Outsider, Peter Hale is Derek Hale’s Parental Figure, Peter Hale is Jackson Whittemore's Parent, Pre-Hale Fire (Teen Wolf), SECRETLY, Stiles Stilinski Has ADHD, Stiles Stilinski is Derek Hale's Anchor, The Hale Family, Werewolf Mates, Young Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, petopher, sterek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:54:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27416863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ash_mcj/pseuds/ash_mcj
Summary: [5 Times Laura noticed that her grumpy, territorial brother seemed have an affinity for Stiles, and 1 time she put the pieces together and realized what that meant]Laura Hale prided herself in the fact that she knew her little brother better than anyone else. Derek was extremely territorial when it came to his clothes, food, and bedroom--he always had been. The food was likely because he was a bit more in touch with his wolf side than the rest of their family, and foreign scents in his den made him anxious, so the pack respected that. They never stole his food, asked to borrow his things, or wandered into his room.What Laura did not know, was how the hell the spastic little human ball of annoying sounds and flailing arms known as Stiles Stilinski had just jumped onto her brother's bed while he was sleeping and didn't get ripped apart.
Relationships: Chris Argent/Peter Hale, Claudia Stilinski/Sheriff Stilinski, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Series: Teen Wolf Outsider POVs [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2003113
Comments: 149
Kudos: 1771
Collections: Sterek Goodness, sterek





	1. Derek's Room

**Author's Note:**

> AGES ARE ROUGHLY: Laura (14), Derek (10), Cora and Allison (5), Jackson, Malia, and Stiles (4)  
> Peter Hale and Chris Argent (Hale) are together and live at the Hale House with their three children: Allison, Jackson, and Malia. Their best friend is Noah Stilinski, so Stiles comes to the Hale house very frequently. 
> 
> Inspired by the quote from Shameless (US):  
> "Do you love him?"  
> "I like how he smells."

It was nearing ten o’clock in the morning when Laura was suddenly pulled out of her reading by multiple sharp knocks on the front door of the Hale House. She had almost forgotten that the Stilinskis were coming over that morning.

Ms. Claudia was a nice woman--a lot like Laura’s mother, actually. She was head-strong, calm, and nurturing. She also made the best mac n cheese Laura had ever tasted. Mr. Noah was a police officer, which Laura thought was awesome. She was only in freshman year, but she planned to be a police officer when she grew up, too.

It was the Stilinskis' son that Laura always dreaded coming over.

“Good morning, Ms. Talia!” Stiles squealed, rushing forward as soon as the door was opened. He latched himself onto her thigh until she reached down and acknowledged him with a ruffle of his dark, floppy hair, and then he took off running into the living room where the other kids were.

“If I could have half of the energy in your boy, Claudia,” Her mother chuckled as she shook her head in disbelief. “I would get so much done every day.”

“You and me both,” Ms. Claudia agreed, pulling her into a hug.

“Noah!” Uncle Peter greeted cheerfully as he came down the stairs. “What do you say we play a game of poker? I’m in a mood and Christopher won’t play with me.”

“He’s a cheater,” Uncle Chris accused. 

“Oh, don’t I know it,” Mr. Noah laughed. “I’ll play if you do, Chris.”

“We’re playing, then!” Uncle Peter declared, not bothering to wait for his husband to answer. The three men came into the kitchen, where Laura was reading, and Peter made a motion for her to get up from the table. “Can you please go watch your sister and cousins, Sweetheart? It’s adult time.”

“I’m fourteen--I’m basically an adult, too."

“Fourteen is not eighteen,” Uncle Chris told her, before pressing a kiss to the top of her head and lightly moving her out of the chair.

She rolled her eyes and took her book across the entryway into the living room. Stiles was hugging Cora on the couch as she rubbed her cheek against his, while he used his free hand to cup Malia’s cheek as she nuzzled it with a smile. Allison was leaning against the three of them, her head against the side of Stiles’.

Laura had never seen such a tactile human in her life. She wondered if he was as affectionate with other children as he was with the Hales, because she knew that most humans were not as physical as the wolves Stiles loved to surround himself with. He had practically no sense of personal space.

“Why is Stiles _always_ here?” Jackson complained from his seat on the other end of the couch, far away from the human boy.

“Be nice, Jackson,” Laura scolded, though she didn’t necessarily disagree with him. Stiles was a bit much, in her opinion.

“Where’s Derek?” Stiles suddenly asked as he gently pulled away from the girls to look around the room with a frown etched onto his lips and his eyebrows furrowed.

“He’s still sleeping,” Laura told him, opening her book back up to the page she was on.

“We’re gonna watch Finding Nemo, Stiles,” Malia said excitedly, grabbing onto the boy’s arm to help him focus on her. Without physically touching Stiles to ground him to your conversation, he was almost definitely not listening. It was a mystery where the kid’s mind was most of the time, but it was rarely present. “Do you like that movie? It’s my favorite.”

“It’s _my_ favorite, too!” Stiles exclaimed as he got to his feet. “I think Derek wants to watch it, too.”

“Derek never watches Finding Nemo with us,” Cora pouted. “He’s a meanie and says it’s for babies.”

“Babies?!” Stiles cried out, evidently taking the statement as a personal affront. “I’ll go ask him.”

“Wait, Stiles!” Allison called as he ran out of the room towards the stairs, but he paid her no heed. “Uh...Laura?”

“Hm?”

“Stiles just--”

“Oh, my God!” Laura gasped, her brain catching up to the situation as she threw her book down on the couch and shot up to chase after Stiles.

Since the time he was young, Derek had hated anyone in his room. They all respected that he felt anxious when there were other scents in there apart from his own, even though it was a bit odd that he didn’t want the pack smell. The other kids had always taken turns cuddling in each other’s beds so they would feel safe and protected at night by the comforting scent each other, but Derek had always been...different. He loved them all--they knew he did--but he liked having his own space _apart_ from the pack. Their mother made them adhere to that, even though it was slightly hurtful and rather annoying to cater to. 

Laura was almost up the stairs, when she heard Derek’s bedroom door being banged open and loudly hitting against the inside wall of his bedroom with how much force Stiles had barged in with. She cursed under her breath and crept down the hall to peer into his room, expecting Derek to be seconds away from tearing Stiles’ head off. As soon as she peeked around the door frame, her mouth fell agape.

Stiles was crawling on Derek’s _bed_ . Even their _mother_ didn’t dare touch his bed because of how much he hated anyone’s scent on the mound of pillows and blankets he always slept with. Laura watched in shock as Stiles clambered over the bedding and _sat_ on Derek’s stomach, earning a soft grunt from the older kid. His eyes were still closed, but it was obvious to Laura by his breathing that he was awake.

“Wake up, sleepy wolf,” Stiles whispered loudly.

“No.”

“The sun is up!” Stiles insisted, bouncing lightly on his stomach.

“Stop,” Derek growled heatlessly, grabbing Stiles’ leg to still him and stop the kid from crushing his stomach again.

Laura was pretty sure she had never heard Derek growl with so little anger behind it. The last time she even stepped foot in his room, she was full on snarled at and nearly bitten--and she was just trying to give him a book she had bought for him! Yet this annoying little kid just ran in, got into his bed, and _sat on him_ \--and nothing? No anger? No aggression? She didn’t understand.

She watched as Stiles reached down to put his fingers on Derek’s eyelids in an attempt to force them open. “Let me see your eyes!”

“Cut it out, Mischief,” Derek grumbled, using his grip on the human’s leg to push him off of himself. Stiles rolled onto the mattress beside him, before crawling back to lay his upper body against Derek’s chest.

“You wanna watch Nemo with us?” Stiles asked him hopefully. “We’re gonna watch Nemo.”

“Your breath smells bad--go away.”

“No, it doesn’t! Mommy helped me brush my teeth this morning because I had pantcakes with syrup!”

“Pancakes,” Derek corrected as he put his pillow over his face in a poor attempt to block out the world.

“I said that.”

“You didn’t.”

“Wanna watch Nemo?” Stiles questioned again.

“I’m _sleeping_.”

“No you aren’t, Der-Bear, you're talking to me!”

“I’m sleep-talking,” Derek told him, before raising the pillow to glare at him. “And don’t call me that.”

“You’re not sleep ta--” Stiles giggled, but was cut off by Derek’s hand over his mouth. The little boy was silent for a moment, before Derek let out an annoyed sigh and removed his hand. He wiped his palm off on the back of Stiles’ shirt, then pushed him off of his chest again. “I licked you.”

“I know.”

Laura forced herself to tear her attention away from the unforeseen interaction and move out of Derek’s doorway. He seemed to be in a better mood than he did most mornings, but she didn’t want to push it. She walked quietly back to the stairs and tried to wrap her head around what she had just seen as she descended. 

How was that possible? How did Stiles Stilinski have more privileges than Derek’s own pack? Did their mother know about this?

“You alright, Laura?” Uncle Chris asked once she reached the foot of the stairs. “You look like you saw a ghost.”

Laura walked into the kitchen and quietly revealed, “Stiles is in Derek’s room.”

“Poor Derek,” Ms. Claudia winced. “He’s not gentle at waking people up.”

“He’s in his room?” Uncle Peter asked, his eyebrow raising interestedly.

“Yeah...like...he’s in his _bed._ He just woke him up by sitting on him and trying to pry his eyes open.”

“Did Derek seem upset?” Her mother asked her curiously. 

“No! No flashing eyes, no teeth, no claws--he just...let him!” Laura stressed. “Derek never does that!”

“That _is_ peculiar,” Uncle Peter mused, before sharing a look with his sister that Laura couldn’t quite read. 

“Will you go turn on the movie, Dear? They’ve been waiting,” Her mother instructed.

Laura couldn’t believe that they weren’t as confused as she was. She expected them to rush up to see them or ask more questions or _something_! They barely even seemed surprised. She decided then that it would be up to her to keep an eye on her brother and see what was so special about the annoying kid that was apparently more important to Derek than the pack.


	2. Derek's Food

Laura was seated across from Derek at the circular kitchen table as they both picked at their lunches in silence, Laura messaging her friend on her cell phone, while Derek flipped through a comic book that was sitting open on the table top. They had decided to take refuge together away from the chaos happening in the living room.

She was fairly certain that the Hale children--along with Stiles--were building some sort of fort out of couch cushions and blankets they had dragged downstairs from the kids’ rooms, but she had no idea why so much screaming was involved. None of the sounds seemed too distressed, though, so she didn’t bother to investigate. If she heard crying, she would get up.

The familiar _pat-pat-pat_ of small bare feet running into the kitchen drew Laura’s attention to Stiles, as he skidded to a stop beside Derek, who didn’t bother acknowledging his presence despite nearly being crashed into.

“We’replayingdragonsandknightsandIcameto--”

“Breathe,” Derek cut him off monotonously, as if reminding Stiles to do the basic human function was something he did often. Laura wondered if he really did.

Stiles took an exaggerated breath, before repeating, “We’re playing dragons and knights. Do you wanna play?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Eating.”

That appeared to intrigue Stiles and he leaned closer to the table to examine the sandwich sitting on Derek’s plate. “What kinda samwich is that?”

“No,” Derek grunted, reaching out to gently push Stiles’ head away as he continued reading the comic book.

“Wh--but--That’s not even an answer!” Stiles sputtered, then pinched his eyebrows together and swatted Derek’s hand away.

When Derek didn’t say anything, Stiles crept closer again and put his hands on the table top, subtly inching one closer to the plate while watching the wolf carefully out of the corner of his eye. Derek growled low in his chest and snapped his eyes to the hand nearing his food, but it didn’t deter Stiles in the slightest.

Laura was about to warn the kid to back off, when he swiftly grabbed the sandwich and attempted to dart out of the room. He had hardly taken a few steps, before Derek was out of his seat and grabbing Stiles’ by the back of his neck to prevent him from leaving.

“Darn it,” Stiles mumbled disappointedly. “I wasn’t fast enough.”

Laura stood up and circled around the table to get closer to them, knowing that Derek struggled with maintaining his control over his wolf much more than the rest of the Hales. She was watching his eyes intently, since his eyes flashing was always the first sign that he didn’t have himself anchored well. Her mother would kill her if she let Derek attack Stiles.

“Derek doesn’t like his food touched, so you can’t do that,” She reprimanded. “He gets very mad at you when you take it.”

Stiles looked up at Derek for a moment, before giggling, as if the idea was ludicrous. “No, he doesn’t! He’s just a grumpy wolf.”

Stiles lifted the sandwich to his mouth and took a small bite out of it. He hummed for a moment with his eyes squinted, then swallowed and said, “Mmm, turkey. I _love_ turkey!”

Laura looked to Derek again and sniffed, trying to assess the danger, but there was none. No anger, no annoyance, no...anything, really. Derek’s eyebrows were furrowed and his glare was attempting to pin Stiles to the floor, but his body was completely relaxed. His free hand was hanging loosely by his side, his jaw wasn’t clenched, and the hand holding onto Stiles’ neck wasn’t actually very secure. She was pretty sure Stiles could easily get out of it, if he wanted to. 

He was right--Derek wasn’t mad...which made no sense!

“Can I have one more bite? _Please?”_ Stiles begged Derek, putting on the sweetest smile Laura had ever seen across his face. His large amber eyes watched him for a few moments, before he shoved the sandwich into his mouth again and took the largest bite he could manage, which filled his cheeks up like a chipmunk. He mumbled out something that Laura guessed was supposed to be, “Thank you,” and handed it back to Derek, who released the hold on his neck. 

Derek returned to the table and sat down in his chair while Stiles walked back into the living room, as if nothing had happened. Laura sat across from her brother once again and watched him confusedly as he went back to reading his comic book while taking a bite of his food.

“What?” He asked irritatedly, noticing her blatant staring.

“He just ate your food...off your plate,” Laura told him.

“He's a brat.”

Laura scoffed and shook her head to herself. That was it? He’s a brat? She eyed him for a moment, before reaching over to take one of the potato chips off of his plate. She picked it up and Derek grabbed her wrist tightly and bared his teeth at her until she dropped it.

“Why can _he_ eat your sandwich when _I’m_ your sister and I can’t even have a chip?” Laura questioned, her voice laced with indignation. “You never share anything with anyone.”

“He’s little.”

“News Flash: so are Cora, Allison, Jackson, and Malia. You almost bit Cora’s hand when she reached over your plate last week! Yet, you share with _Stiles_?”

“I didn’t _share_ ; he stole it,” Derek argued as he stood up and crossed the kitchen to the trash can, where he threw away the sandwich crusts and remaining chips. “Wasn’t that good, anyway.”

“Did you seriously just throw those chips away when you knew I wanted them?” 

Derek simply shrugged remorselessly and walked out of the room.


	3. Derek's Sweater

Laura was seriously considering “accidentally” shattering the Toy Story DVD the next time she got her hands on it. There were some movies that she probably _could_ have sat through three times in one week without wanting to commit violence, but Toy Story was definitely not one of them.

Allison, Cora, and Malia had dragged every pillow and blanket that they owned down into the living room to create a makeshift bed on the floor--which made no sense, when there was a perfectly comfortable couch a foot away. The only one who seemed to share this opinion was Jackson, who was sitting beside his oldest cousin, also bored with the movie choice and opting to watch her fill in her coloring book instead. He held the box of colored pencils in his lap and passed her ones that he thought would look good on the mandala she was working on. He had some good color opinions, she had to admit. He could probably redecorate her room at four years old better than she could at fourteen.

“It’s freezing in here!” Stiles complained from somewhere within the heap of bedding. 

The words had barely left his mouth, before Malia excitedly shouted, “Puppy pile!”

The girls immediately moved to practically tackle the human. Malia managed to lay on top of him, while Cora and Allison tucked themselves against his sides, nuzzling his neck and face. He happily returned the gesture, rubbing his cheeks against their hair and hugging them all the best that he could.

“I’m not joining the puppy pile with Stiles in it,” Jackson sneered, watching them all.

Sometimes Laura couldn’t stand Jackson, but there was no denying that she and her cousin were the most alike out of the Hale children. She wasn’t necessarily sure if that was a good or a bad thing, but at least she always had someone who agreed with her.

For example, on the unpopular idea that Stiles wasn’t that awesome. The girls were practically obsessed with him and Derek had obviously taken some sort of weird liking to him or something that Laura hadn’t quite figured out yet. She just didn’t get the hype.

“We don’t want you in our puppy pile, anyway,” Allison said to her younger brother, before sticking her tongue out at him.

“Yeah, Jackson,” Cora agreed. “That’s why you weren’t _invited_.”

“No one was invited.” He rolled his eyes. “Malia just yelled ‘puppy pile’.”

“Shh, I can’t hear the movie,” Stiles shushed them. 

Laura briefly wondered if he was uncomfortable under all the girls, but he wasn’t letting out any distressed sounds or chemosignals, so she figured he was fine. He was even playing with Cora and Malia’s hair absentmindedly while watching the screen. 

It honestly baffled Laura sometimes, how wolf-like he acted. It was almost like he was made to be around werewolves, the way he easily picked up all their mannerisms.

“You guys are squishing him,” Derek growled, causing Laura and Jackson to flinch at his sudden appearance behind them. He had a habit of moving so silently that he seemed to appear out of thin air sometimes, which bothered Laura to no end and made her feel like a terrible future-alpha by being able to be sneaked up on so easily. 

The girls scrambled off of Stiles as soon as they heard the underlying warning in Derek’s voice and the young boy looked up at him with a bright smile. Derek didn’t smile back, of course. His eyebrows were low and his mouth was pulled into a tight line. Laura guessed that he was chewing on the inside of his lip by the way his jaw was moving slightly.

“He was cold,” Allison said, quirking an eyebrow at him in confusion at his odd reaction to their puppy pile. They all knew that he didn’t like joining in on the cuddling sessions, but he had never broken one up before. 

Laura was just glad that she wasn’t the only one noticing Derek’s weird behavior!

Derek tossed the charcoal grey sweater in his hand over towards Stiles. It hit the kid lightly in the face, causing him to laugh and hug it to his chest. He fumbled with the garment for a moment, before moving to put it on, but Derek stopped him by telling him, “Backwards.”

“Oh,” Stiles said softly as he turned it over. He pulled it over his head and smiled triumphantly as he got his arms through the long sleeves that fell past his hands and folded over his fingers. He rubbed the wool on his cheeks and mumbled, “So soft.”

Laura and the pups looked at Stiles as if he had grown a second head and then turned their attention to Derek, whose face was still tight and unexpressive as he watched Stiles get situated in the sweater.

“Did you come all the way down here just to give Stiles your sweater?” Laura asked him, sounding more accusatory than she had intended. What other reason would he have brought a sweater down? He had to have been listening when Stiles had mentioned being cold.

“No,” he lied, before heading towards the kitchen. 

“Thanks, Der,” Stiles called after him, unphased when the older boy didn’t acknowledge him. He settled back into the bedding pile and returned his attention to the television, but soon realized that he was being stared at. “What?"

“That’s Derek’s sweater,” Malia told him, as if it was an answer. It really _was_ one, even if Stiles didn’t quite understand.

“Yeah?”

“Derek doesn’t let anyone wear his sweaters,” Cora explained.

They all looked at each other awkwardly for a few seconds--since Stiles obviously wasn’t sure how to respond by the way he was glancing around uncomfortably and fidgeting with the sleeves--before Laura saved him and said, “Let’s just finish the movie.”


	4. Derek's Comic Book

Laura was organizing her closet, when she heard Jackson yelling, “I’m gonna kill you, Stiles!”, followed by two fast footsteps racing up the stairs. She stepped out of her closet and opened her bedroom door, just in time to see Stiles barging into Derek’s room. 

The little boy practically flew as he leaped onto the bed and over Derek, who was reading a comic book. Stiles frantically wrapped himself up in the blankets and buried his head into Derek’s side in an attempt to hide.

Jackson raced in after him, but was immediately met with a loud snarl that sent him stumbling out of the room quickly. Derek’s eyes shone bright gold, warning his cousin to back off before he shifted the rest of the way, and Jackson took heed of it by remaining in the hallway.

Laura scented the brief flash of jealousy that Jackson gave off, before it melted into anger again. She didn’t blame him for being jealous--if she was honest, so was she. Which was ridiculous, because she was not only pack, but the next-in-line _Alpha_ of the pack. If anyone should have been able to go into his room, it should have been her. Not Stiles. 

Furthermore, Derek had just protected an outsider from a pack member, which was outrageous and infuriated Laura’s inner wolf. He chose Stiles’ side over pack. Not only a pack member, but a _pup_. 

“You can’t hide in there forever,” Jackson seethed, before stomping off to his bedroom down the hall.

As soon as he was gone, Derek pulled Stiles out from behind him and looked down at him with an eyebrow raised.

“I didn’t do anything! Jackson is just a meanie stupid head,” Stiles told him. Derek’s expression shifted to raise both of his eyebrows and Stiles let out an exaggerated sigh, before admitting, “I maybe ate his cookie...but he ate my candy one time!”

“Brat.” Derek rolled his eyes and flicked the younger boy’s forehead.

“Ow,” Stiles frowned, rubbing the reddening skin. The pain seemed to only register for a moment, before he noticed the comic book in Derek’s hands and scooted closer to him again. “What is that?”

“Book.”

“Is that Spider-Man?!” Stiles exclaimed, bouncing slightly in his excitement. “Can I see? _Please_?”

“No.”

“But he’s my _favoritest_ superhero _ever_ , Der!” Stiles whined.

“Me too, and I don’t want you to rip it or something.”

"You'll rip it."

“I won’t rip it,” Stiles told him, his eyebrows furrowed and lower lip jutted out slightly. “I can be gentle. I love books--I’m _always_ gentle with them. You can ask my mommy.”

Derek groaned and leaned his head back against the wall for a few seconds, before asking, “Your hands clean?”

“Um,” Stiles hummed, looking down at them. He wiped them down the front of his shirt and then held them out for Derek to see. “Yeah.”

Laura’s nose scrunched up in disgust, wondering if that’s how Stiles thought cleaning his hands worked. She made a mental note to never take any food from the kid. To her surprise, she watched as Derek handed his comic book to him.

Stiles let out an excited squeal and carefully set the book in his lap. He started flipping through the pages, looking at all of the drawings on each one.

“What do the words say?” Stiles asked, pointing to them.

“Not reading to you."

“Okay, I’ll pretend.” Stiles shrugged. “Spider-Man says ‘I’m gonna get you, lizard man!’ And then the lizard man says ‘no you aren’t! I’m evil and i’m gonna win!’ and then spider-man says ‘superheroes will win so i will beat you!’”

Laura watched the hints of a smile twitch at the corners of her brother’s lips as he watched Stiles, who was animatedly flailing his arms around to act out the scenes he was seeing in the book. One of his arms nearly smacked Derek in the face, but he caught his wrist before the collision. 

“Oops, sorry,” Stiles giggled, before kissing his palm and reaching out to press it against the cheek he almost hit. Derek immediately focused his attention on the book again, but Laura noticed that the smile had successfully taken over his features. Stiles seemed to notice, too, and used both hands to poke Derek’s cheeks, which caused Derek to swat his hands away.

“Don't do that.”

“I asked my mommy why you have dimples and she said it’s because angels kissed your cheeks,” Stiles told him.

“So? Don’t poke them.”

“They feel funny.”

Laura looked carefully at the places that Stiles had poked and realized that Derek really _did_ have dimples. Since _when_ ? How had she never noticed that before? She figured it was probably because Derek’s smiles around her were few and far between and usually only lasted for a split second before he realized that he was smiling and stopped himself. She was always in too much shock at the uncharacteristic expression to even bother looking for _dimples_.

Apparently, Stiles had seen them enough times that he had formed a habit of poking Derek in the face--which somehow didn’t get his fingers bitten off. 

She turned away from her brother’s room and shut her bedroom door, extremely frustrated. Why did Derek act so different around that stupid kid? Why didn’t he laugh at any of Laura’s jokes or spare a smile here and there when she did things for him, like cook or wash his laundry? She deserved to get responses other than glares, growls, and freaking eyebrow raises! She didn’t get it--what the hell was so special about that human? Why would Derek treat him like that when he constantly acted so put-out around his own _family_? How could he let Stiles in his bed and let him use his comic books--his prized possessions--but act so hostile towards Jackson? 

It was wrong, and Laura was getting pretty sick of it.


	5. Derek's Blanket

Laura and Derek were seated at the kitchen table once again--the only place she seemed to ever run into her brother when he would take breaks from brooding in his room. She had been telling him about her classes at school and he wasn’t really participating in the conversation, but she was pretty sure he was listening. It didn’t really matter, anyway. Laura liked to talk and if Derek wasn’t going to stop her, then she couldn’t care less if she was just ranting to the air.

She was suddenly interrupted, however, when Stiles crept into the kitchen and stood beside Derek, who was picking at the chips on his plate.

“Derek?” He whispered, earning a grunt from the older boy. “I’m freezing.”

“It’s winter,” he told him.

“I’m serious!” Stiles pouted, his warm brown eyes pleading with Derek. “I’m _freezing_.”

“You should've worn more clothes.”

“I’m gonna freeze to _death_.”

“It’s not _that_ cold.”

“Do you want a jacket or something?” Laura asked him, mild annoyance evident in her tone after having to stop her ‘conversation’ because the kid wasn’t dressed for the weather.

Stiles frowned at her and shook his head, before looking back at Derek and grabbing onto his arm. “ _Please_?”

“Fine,” Derek sighed, waving him off.

Stiles was gone as soon as the word left Derek's mouth, sprinting out of the room and up the stairs.

“What’s fine?” Laura wondered after a few seconds, feeling like she missed something. “He said he didn’t want a jacket, so...?”

“Blanket,” Derek explained knowingly, just before Stiles passed by the entryway on his way to the living room with a plush black faux-fur blanket that she immediately recognized from Derek’s bed. It was wrapped over his head and around his body like a cloak and dragged behind him on the ground. Derek watched him climb up on the couch and cocoon himself in the fabric as he watched whatever was playing on the television and nodded to himself, before turning his attention back to his chips.

Laura wanted to throw something at Derek. She was sick of being so bothered by this whole thing, but how could she not be? How was she supposed to be okay with Derek putting this kid above the pack? She was the future Alpha--this was going to be _her_ pack one day. Derek was supposed to be her second-in-command, but how could she trust him with that if he so obviously held the pack at a lesser importance than someone as ridiculous as _Stiles?_

She didn’t bother saying anything, because she knew her brother would deny it or just ignore her entirely, like he was so keen to do to everyone but Stiles. She got up and walked out of the kitchen, heading straight to her bedroom and shutting the door behind her.

It took all of thirty seconds for a knock at her door to startle her from her internal ranting. When she opened it, her mother was standing there with a concerned look on her face.

“What’s wrong, Sweetheart? I could smell your anger from the hallway.” 

Laura contemplated holding her tongue, but knew there was no point. If her mother wanted to know something, she was going to be answered. “I just don’t understand why Derek favors Stiles over the pack.” Laura went over and sat on her bed, with her mother following suit. When she was only met with a puzzled expression, she continued, “I mean, he shares his food and his clothes and blankets and stuff with him. He lets him in his room. His _bed_ . He doesn’t even let any of us _step_ into his room without being on the edge of shifting because of how worked up and territorial he gets! It’s not fair. As part of a pack--”

“Laura, your brother loves you very much,” Her mother stopped her, reaching out to brush a comforting hand over her head and down the back of her neck. “Reach out with your pack bond and you can feel how strong Derek is connected to you. To all of us.”

“Then why does that annoying kid down there get treated like he put the moon in the sky, while Derek treats us all like we’re an inconvenience to his existence? I thought he wasn’t _capable_ of being normal, but he _is_ . He proves it when he’s around Stiles. What’s so special about him? Don’t you see how _weird_ it is?”

“Derek is a very complicated person--he has been, since he was born. He’s always been rather distant from his human side and honestly I don’t think he _can_ control it. He struggles a great deal more than the rest of us, as you know.”

“So what...Stiles is a _Derek-tamer_ ?” Laura scoffed. “He’s so loud and spazzy and _annoying_. It doesn’t make sense that Derek never gets upset with him.”

“I wouldn’t say Derek never gets upset with him...he just has more patience with him than he does with most people,” Her mother argued, looking at the wall thoughtfully. “Stiles seems to tether Derek to his human side. Maybe he’s his anchor...that’s our best guess. Your uncles and I, I mean. And we are very grateful that Derek has found a way to anchor himself, because we were worried that he wouldn’t.”

“You thought Derek would become feral?” Laura realized, her eyebrows rising at the suggestion. She knew it was something that happened sometimes with those who gave into their inner wolf, but she never thought it could happen to someone she _knew_. Realistically, she understood that it did occur in their world, but it was hard to imagine without seeing it for herself.

“I worried that it was a possibility.” She nodded. “It always is--but especially with those like Derek, who struggle so much with keeping the balance between their nature and their humanity. So, yes, Stiles is quite the character...but I for one am glad that he came around and that Derek seems to be in a much better mindset in his presence.”

“I guess I didn’t look at it that way,” Laura admitted. “Am I a bad sister?”

“No, Dear, it’s completely normal to be jealous of a packmate favoring someone else,” Her mom assured her, “But it’s important to remember that Derek is different from the rest of us. He may see Stiles as part of _his_ pack, even if he isn’t part of ours. Pack bonds are very complicated. Don’t be too angry at him--I really don’t believe he’s acting this way to be spiteful. He doesn’t like Stiles more than you or any of the pups--it’s just a different relationship.”

“Alright,” Laura agreed. Deep down, she knew her mother was right. She could feel the strength of Derek's pack bond and she didn't _really_ believe that he didn't care about the family. She just wasn't used to sharing pack members with outsiders.

It didn’t make her any less annoyed at his behavior, but she supposed that Derek having an anchor was a good thing.


	6. I Like How He Smells

Laura was tending to the bacon on the stove, when Mr. Noah came into the kitchen and sat at the table.

“Morning,” he greeted as he opened up the newspaper and began to read. He must have brought it from his own house, since the Hales didn’t get the newspaper delivered. “You know where your uncles are?"

Laura tilted her head slightly to the side, listening for where they could be in the house, and then told him, “They’re coming down,” when she heard their footsteps on the stairs.

“Peter, this is ridiculous,” Uncle Chris said with annoyance as he followed the other into the room.

“Noah!” Uncle Peter said cheerfully, going over to his best friend and squeezing his shoulder. “Do you hear something? It’s almost...like an annoying and pitchy humming in the distance?”

“Oh no, I’m not getting involved in this,” Mr. Noah laughed, shaking his head in amusement.

“Tell me,” Uncle Peter carried on, “How is Claudia? You’re so lucky to have her--it must be _wonderful_ to have a thoughtful, civilized partner, instead of a caveman.”

“A _caveman_? Seriously?” Uncle Chris rolled his eyes.

“I know I’m going to regret asking this, but...what happened?” Mr. Noah inquired hesitantly, setting the newspaper down on the table top.

“Oh, my dear Christopher only completely disrespected me and our home and forgot how to act like a decent human being,” Uncle Peter told him, before waving his hand dismissively and saying, “It’s no big deal, really.”

“I forgot to screw the cap back on the toothpaste before returning it to the drawer,” Uncle Chris answered. “A _tiny_ bit got onto his hairbrush that was in there and he’s being a drama queen, as usual.”

“If I had known _this_ was in my future, I’m not so sure I would have agreed to marry him.”

Uncle Chris grabbed Uncle Peter by the shirt and pushed him into the wall, holding him there with a glare.

The werewolf simply raised an eyebrow at him and asked, “Am I supposed to be impressed by this?”

“No, you’re supposed to quit being a brat and ignoring me, because we both know it’s pointless. You have to forgive me--I’m your _mate._ There are very few things that I could do that would make you regret marrying me, and accidentally leaving the cap off the toothpaste is not one of them.”

“It’s illegal to use our mate bond as reasoning to win arguments,” Uncle Peter said as he wrapped his arms around the other’s waist and pulled him closer. “But I _suppose_ you’re right. I do hate you sometimes for always being right.”

“We’re _literally_ made for each other--you wouldn’t want me if I was any different.”

“True...I thank the gods every day that I was given someone who can deal with me so admirably.” Uncle Peter smiled and pulled Uncle Chris into a chaste kiss, before pushing him away and walking over to the table again.

“Your lovey dovey stuff almost made me throw up--thanks for stopping,” Laura joked, eyeing her uncles affectionately. She hoped that she would find what they had someday.

“You should have seen them in high school--I think I _did_ throw up a time or two,” Mr. Noah told her, earning a dramatic eye roll from Uncle Peter.

“And during those times when you threw up, how much alcohol had you consumed?”

“None--I was a good kid. Never drank a drop until I was twenty-one.”

Chris laughed and said, “Mhm...I never touched it, either.”

“Interesting,” Uncle Peter hummed thoughtfully. “It seems I recall our teenage years much differently for some reason.”

Laura watched Uncle Chris reach out and pinch his husband’s side harshly, eliciting a yelp, followed by laughter as he swatted his arm in retaliation. She watched the way the two smiled at each other, the stupid argument completely forgotten as if it had never happened. They were always that way.

Uncle Peter would overreact to just about everything and Uncle Chris would bring him back down to reason. Or on occasion, Uncle Chris would get too caught up in his paperwork for his job and Uncle Peter would bother him —usually by stealing his papers or spraying him with a squirt bottle— until he would abandon the work he had been obsessing over for much too long and chase after him. They evened each other out perfectly, despite being so different and rather difficult for others’ to deal with at times.

“Honey, can you go get Derek and Stiles from upstairs? Tell them breakfast is almost ready?” Uncle Chris asked her as his partner sat in his lap.

_Derek and Stiles._

As soon as those names entered her mind, she froze. Like a switch had been flipped, everything suddenly made complete sense. The way Derek was always so patient and lenient with Stiles, despite his annoyingly high energy and lack of personal space recognition. It was like Derek just _couldn’t_ hate Stiles, even though he was the embodiment of everything that should have made Derek want to be as far away from him as possible.

Stiles wasn’t just Derek’s anchor--he was his _mate_. Of course he was!

Laura recalled what her mother had told her about mates when she was younger. They were the perfect compliment to each other and when together, they worked to level one another out.

Stiles got Derek to smile and relax in ways Laura had never seen. He was always so aware of his surroundings, but she was pretty sure that he hadn’t even known that she had been spying on their interactions lately. Derek was so encompassed in whatever Stiles was saying that he forgot to be on edge. And she recalled how after Stiles was given Derek’s sweater, he was able to sit still throughout the rest of the movie they were watching. He wasn’t talking or fidgeting or running off--he was much more mellowed out than normal. She also remembered the way he kept rubbing his face on the collar of the sweater and realized that he must have been smelling Derek on it, which was what had been settling his anxiety and restlessness. Not to mention, the way Stiles had taken to wolf mannerisms so easily--like scent marking and physical affection as more important roles in communication--as if he was supposed to be part of a pack. He _was_ supposed to be. He was _made_ to be.

She was so stupid--she should have _known_. All the signs were there, but she had been too jealous to think beyond her indignation towards Derek favoring the kid over the pack. The only thing stronger than pack bonds were mate bonds, which was why Derek immediately acted to protect Stiles from Jackson when the younger boy had been in potential danger.

“You alright, Laura?” Uncle Peter asked, sensing her mixed emotions as she worked through the revelation.

“Yeah,” Laura answered, shaking her head to clear her thoughts a bit. “I’ll go get them.”

Laura took the stairs two at a time as she hurried to her brother’s room. The door was wide open and when she peered inside, she saw Derek laying in bed while Stiles was leaning against his pillows, talking about a dragon movie he had watched recently with his dad.

“Breakfast?” Stiles chirped upon noticing her presence. She nodded and Stiles scrambled to climb over Derek and drop down to the floor. She quickly moved out of the way when he barreled past her to race downstairs towards the food.

Derek sluggishly rolled out of his bed and dragged his feet as he slowly made his way towards Laura, much less of a morning person than the younger boy.

“Hey, I’m sorry,” Laura told him. He paused and raised an eyebrow at her questioningly. “For being so stupid and jealous, I mean. For giving you a hard time about Stiles. I get it now. That you love him.”

Derek’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline in alarm and he shook his head, but Laura just rolled her eyes.

“I mean as a friend or whatever. He means a lot to you, right? I was mad that you let him in your room and let him touch your stuff when the rest of us can’t, but it’s because he’s...different than the rest of us. His scent doesn’t stress you out when it’s on your things the way everyone else’s does.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“It’s okay to care about people, Derek. The world won’t end if you admit you have a heart somewhere in your grumpy self.”

Derek chewed the inside of his lip for a moment, before admitting, “I like how he smells,” which Laura knew was the closest thing to telling her his feelings as she was going to get. It was good enough.

The sound of Stiles rushing up the stairs again and shouting, “Derek, there’s _bacon!”_ caught their attention. When he reached the siblings, he grabbed onto Derek’s hand and pulled him towards the stairs. “Come _on_!”

Derek shook his grip off, but Stiles just ran around behind him and pushed his back in an attempt to make him go faster, since pulling had failed. Derek reached around and grabbed his arm, moving him to be in front again, before pushing him forward gently. “Go, Mischief.”

“Slow Poke,” Stiles teased.

“Brat.”

Laura watched the encounter with a smile on her face this time, all of the annoyance and jealously that she once felt gone and replaced with an overwhelming sense of happiness for her brother. She was mildly bothered that the grump of a kid found his mate before she did, but she didn’t let herself dwell on it.

The universe worked in mysterious ways and mates were joined when the two souls needed it each other. Derek obviously needed his mate earlier in life than she did, and that was okay.

She was happy for him, even if she would be stuck with Stiles Stilinski in her life forever. It was something she would just have to deal with, she supposed. At least Cora, Allison, and Malia would be thrilled, since their best friend would be joining the pack at some point.

Laura and Jackson could complain to each other in private.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next book is in Allison's POV!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys liked this! Thanks for reading :)
> 
> If you want to read more in this particular Sterek series, bookmark/subscribe to the “Derek’s Person” series. That is where all of the fics I will write that happen within this universe will take place. 
> 
> If you want more Outsider POVs, bookmark/subscribe to the series “Teen Wolf Outsider POVs”. That’s where I’ll be putting all my outsider fics for sterek, petopher, mcstilinski, scallison, and a bunch more that I have planned!


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